The Palace of Illusions

Krishna is a divine being who acts as Panchaali’s spiritual guide. For most of the novel, he takes on a human form and acts as the king of Dwarka. Early in the novel, Panchaali notes, “He was known for his pragmatic intelligence, and kings liked to call on him for counsel” (11). Though Krishna and Panchaali have a playful relationship, Krishna challenges Panchaali emotionally and intellectually, helping her to self-actualize.

However, it is not until Panchaali is dying that she realizes Krishna is divine and has been more than an advisor to her. She says, “When I thought myself abandoned, he was busy supporting me—but so subtly that I often didn’t notice” (356). He allows her to carry out her destiny and shepherds her into the afterlife.

Karna is a great warrior who always wears gold earrings and gold armor. As a baby, he was found floating on the river Ganga by a charioteer. Towards the end of the novel, we learn that his parents are Kunti and the sun god and that Karna is the oldest Pandava brother. Karna competes for Panchaali’s hand in marriage at her swayamvar, but Panchaali humiliates him by asking about his parentage. Though they both pine after each other, their pride creates tension between them that persists throughout the novel. 

King Drupad is the ruler of Panchaal and the father of Dhri and Panchaali. His central struggle is seeking revenge against his nemesis, Drona. Panchaali notes of her father, “His weakness was that he cared too much about what people might say about the royal house of Panchaal” (11). The two do not have a close relationship, and Panchaali wishes that her father would not confine her so strictly to gender conventions.  

Kunti is the wife of Pandu and the mother of the six Pandava children. When it is clear that she cannot have children with Pandu, she uses a boon that was given to her by the gods to conceive Karna with the sun god. She is frightened when he is born, however, and she lets him float down the river Ganga. She then has Yudhisthir, Bheem, and Arjun with other gods and recognizes them as her children. Being a generous person, she extends the boon to Madri, Pandu’s second wife. When Madri dies, Kunti adopts her two children as her own. Though Kunti is able to overcome her jealousy of Madri and make peace with her, she and Panchaali have a tense relationship. 

Arjun is Kunti’s son and a skilled archer. Panchaali describes him as “[c]ourteous, noble, brave, handsome,” noting, “he would be a fit husband for me” (104). However, soon after Arjun marries Panchaali, Kunti insists that Panchaali marry Arjun’s four brothers as well. Arjun resents her for this, and he never gives Panchaali the love she desires. 

Dhri is Panchaali’s older brother, who is born out of the same fire that she is born out of. Panchaali claims, “Dhri was the noblest of all the people I knew,” and they are very close, especially as children (11). Dhri is intelligent and caring, and he frequently gives Panchaali advice. He raises Panchaali’s sons while she is in exile.

Yudhisthir is one of Panchaali’s husbands and “could hold forth on philosophy for hours” (210). Though he is intelligent, he is not always prudent. He gambles away the Pandava kingdom to his cousin Duryodhan, forcing the Pandava family into exile. He is the only Pandava who is able to enter the gods’ world as a human.